2015 Berlin ePrix
2015 Berlin ePrix | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 8 of 11 of the 2014–15 Formula E season | |||
Race details[1] | |||
Date | 23 May 2015 | ||
Official name | 2015 FIA Formula E DHL Berlin ePrix[2] | ||
Location | Tempelhof airport, Berlin, Germany | ||
Course | Temporary circuit | ||
Course length | 2.469 km (1.534 miles) | ||
Distance | 33 laps, 81.477 km (50.622 miles) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Trulli | ||
Time | 1:21.547 | ||
Fastest lap | |||
Driver | Nelson Piquet Jr. |
China | |
Time | 1:24.435 on lap 20 | ||
Podium | |||
First |
Dragon | ||
Second | e.dams | ||
Third |
Dragon | ||
Lap leaders |
The 2015 Berlin ePrix, formally known as the 2015 DHL Berlin ePrix, was a
Prior to the ePrix, Lucas di Grassi was leading the Drivers' Championship by four points over Nelson Piquet Jr., while e.dams Renault led the Teams' Championship in front of second placed Audi Sport ABT.
Jarno Trulli started the race from pole position, but eventually retired. The race was initially won by championship leader Lucas di Grassi. After di Grassi's car was found to have used a modified front wing, the victory was handed to second-placed Jérôme d'Ambrosio. As a result of the race, Nelson Piquet Jr. took the lead in the drivers' championship.
Background
On 11 July 2013, it was announced that the newly founded
Coming into the race from
The circuit
The 2.469 km (1.534 mi) anti-clockwise circuit was designed by Rodrigo Nunes, featuring 17 corners.
World record
Between qualifying and the race, a new world record was set for the largest parade of electric vehicles, when 577 cars and scooters took to the track. The parade surpassed the previous record set in September 2014 in Silicon Valley, United States.[14][15]
Report
All sessions took place on Saturday, 23 May 2015,[1] in contrast to Formula One, where all sessions are divided up over a three- to four-day period.[16]
Free practice
Two free practice sessions were held before qualifying, running for 45 and 30 minutes respectively.[1] The first session started at 08:15 local time, with Sébastien Buemi topping the timesheets for e.dams-Renault in a time of 1:23.158.[17] The track got faster as the temperatures rose and more cars drove around the circuit; lap times improved by more than a second in the second session, which started at 10:30. This time, it was championship leader Lucas di Grassi who topped the timesheets with a lap time of 1:22.032.[17]
Qualifying
In contrast to other racing series such as Formula One, Formula E has a specific qualifying mode, in which the twenty drivers are divided up into four groups, leaving enough space on track for everyone to produce lap times without interference by other drivers. Each group had ten minutes on track and the fastest time of each driver determined the grid position. A lottery determined which drivers started in which group. With five-minute breaks between the groups, qualifying had an overall length of 55 minutes.[18]
Racing veteran Jarno Trulli (Trulli GP) started in the first group, as qualifying began at 12:00, and posted a strong time of 1:21.547 early in the session, being the first to lap the course in under 1:22. Also in the group was Nelson Piquet Jr. – second in the championship – who ultimately managed only 13th place on the grid. As qualifying progressed, championship leader Lucas di Grassi and Monaco winner Sébastien Buemi came close to beating Trulli's time, but proved unable to do so, handing Trulli a surprising[19] pole position, his first in Formula E.[20]
Race
A special feature of Formula E was the "Fan Boost" feature, an additional 30 kilowatts (40 hp) of power to use for five seconds during the race. The three drivers, who were allowed to use the boost, were determined by a fan vote.[18] For the Berlin race, Nelson Piquet Jr., Sébastien Buemi and Charles Pic (NEXTEV TCR) were handed the extra power. For Piquet, it was the third boost in a row, while both Buemi and Pic were able to use it for the first time.[19]
At the start of the race, Lucas di Grassi challenged Jarno Trulli for the lead, but Trulli closed the racing line into turn one. As Trulli lost the rear end of the car going into turn three, di Grassi took the lead. The other Audi Sport Abt of
The mandatory pit stops, during which all drivers needed to change into a second car,[18] started on lap 17. Everyone came in at this point except the two NEXTEV TCR drivers Piquet and Charles Pic. D'Ambrosio managed to get ahead of Buemi into second place thanks to swift work from his crew. Piquet benefited from his late stop by moving ahead into eighth after everyone had pitted and having more power left to use towards the end of the race. Heidfeld ran into additional trouble during the second half of the race, losing two positions during the final laps to both Loïc Duval (Dragon Racing) and the fast running Piquet, who managed to finish fifth from thirteenth on the grid, even closing on Duval on the final lap. Meanwhile, di Grassi won comfortably from d'Ambrosio, the gap being more than twelve seconds.[19]
Post-race
After the chequered flag fell, Lucas di Grassi's car stopped on the way back to pit lane.[19] Once his car returned to parc fermé, it failed post-race scrutineering, and was found to have a modified front wing, leading to his disqualification.[21] This meant that Jérôme d'Ambrosio was handed his first Formula E victory, moving him into fifth place in the drivers' championship. Nelson Piquet Jr. recovered from his "dismal" qualifying performance to finish an eventual fourth, taking the championship lead.[19] While e.dams Renault retained their lead in the teams' championship, the strong result for the Dragon Racing squad meant they moved up into second.[22] The Abt team decided not to appeal the decision against Di Grassi, while emphasizing that the front wing did not lead to a performance advantage.[23] Di Grassi himself responded on Twitter, writing: "They are trying to make me win this championship in the hard mode. Don't worry, we will be back to kick some Piquet and Buemi ass on track."[24]
D'Ambrosio was delighted with the result, commenting: "It was a great weekend for us overall. I think in the last four races we've had the pace to be on the podium but we didn't always manage to put it all together in the race. [...] This time we did it and it paid off!" He however added regret about the fact that he and the team were unable to celebrate the win and a double podium at the respective ceremony.[22]
Classification
Qualifying
Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap | Grid | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | Jarno Trulli | Trulli | 1:21.547 | 1 | |||
2 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi Sport ABT | 1:21.623 | +0.076 | 2 | ||
3 | 9 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Renault | 1:21.685 | +0.138 | 3 | ||
4 | 23 | Nick Heidfeld | Venturi
|
1:21.710 | +0.163 | 4 | ||
5 | 66 | Daniel Abt | Audi Sport ABT | 1:21.754 | +0.207 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio | Dragon Racing
|
1:21.861 | +0.314 | 6 | ||
7 | 8 | Nicolas Prost
|
e.dams-Renault | 1:21.911 | +0.364 | 7 | ||
8 | 6 | Loïc Duval | Dragon Racing
|
1:21.917 | +0.370 | 8 | ||
9 | 30 | Stéphane Sarrazin | Venturi
|
1:21.978 | +0.431 | 9 | ||
10 | 27 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Andretti
|
1:22.015 | +0.468 | 10 | ||
11 | 18 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Trulli | 1:22.032 | +0.485 | 11 | ||
12 | 28 | Scott Speed | Andretti
|
1:22.096 | +0.549 | 12 | ||
13 | 99 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | NEXTEV TCR
|
1:22.310 | +0.763 | 13 | ||
14 | 3 | Jaime Alguersuari | Virgin Racing
|
1:22.395 | +0.848 | 14 | ||
15 | 2 | Sam Bird | Virgin Racing
|
1:22.437 | +0.890 | 15 | ||
16 | 77 | Salvador Durán | Amlin Aguri | 1:22.444 | +0.897 | 16 | ||
17 | 88 | Charles Pic | NEXTEV TCR
|
1:22.464 | +0.917 | 17 | ||
18 | 21 | Bruno Senna | Mahindra Racing | 1:22.575 | +1.028 | 18 | ||
19 | 55 | António Félix da Costa | Amlin Aguri | 1:22.586 | +1.039 | 19 | ||
20 | 5 | Karun Chandhok | Mahindra Racing | 1:22.803 | +1.256 | 20 | ||
Source:[17] |
Race
Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio | Dragon Racing
|
33 | 48:26.566 | 6 | 25 |
2 | 9 | Sébastien Buemi | e.dams-Renault | 33 | +2.433 | 3 | 18 |
3 | 6 | Loïc Duval | Dragon Racing
|
33 | +3.508 | 8 | 15 |
4 | 99 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | NEXTEV TCR
|
33 | +3.975 | 13 | 12+21 |
5 | 23 | Nick Heidfeld | Venturi
|
33 | +13.046 | 4 | 10 |
6 | 30 | Stéphane Sarrazin | Venturi
|
33 | +13.335 | 9 | 8 |
7 | 27 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Andretti
|
33 | +13.678 | 10 | 6 |
8 | 2 | Sam Bird | Virgin Racing
|
33 | +14.055 | 15 | 4 |
9 | 18 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Trulli | 33 | +15.636 | 11 | 2 |
10 | 8 | Nicolas Prost
|
e.dams-Renault | 33 | +16.602 | 7 | 1 |
11 | 55 | António Félix da Costa | Amlin Aguri | 33 | +16.797 | 19 | |
12 | 3 | Jaime Alguersuari | Virgin Racing
|
33 | +20.594 | 14 | |
13 | 28 | Scott Speed | Andretti
|
33 | +21.149 | 12 | |
14 | 66 | Daniel Abt | Audi Sport ABT | 33 | +23.688 | 5 | |
15 | 88 | Charles Pic | NEXTEV TCR
|
33 | +25.491 | 17 | |
16 | 77 | Salvador Durán | Amlin Aguri | 33 | +44.157 | 16 | |
17 | 21 | Bruno Senna | Mahindra Racing | 33 | +46.257 | 18 | |
18 | 5 | Karun Chandhok | Mahindra Racing | 33 | +52.7032 | 20 | |
19 | 10 | Jarno Trulli | Trulli | 31 | +2 laps | 1 | 33 |
DSQ | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi Sport ABT | 33 | Disqualified4 | 2 | |
Source:[17] |
- Notes
- ^1 – Two points for fastest lap.
- ^2 – Karun Chandhok received a drive through penalty converted into a 28 second time penalty for exceeding maximum power usage.
- ^3 – Three points for pole position.
- ^4 – Excluded from race for non-standardised components.
Standings after the race
Drivers or teams listed in bold were still able to take their respective titles.
|
|
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Race Timetable". berlin.fiaformulae.com. FIA. Archived from the original on 2015-07-08. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ "2015 Formula E – Berlin ePrix". FIA. Archived from the original on 2015-05-16. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ Harberg, Kalle (11 July 2013). "Der große Preis von Tempelhof" [The Grand Prix of Tempelhof] (in German). Tagesspiegel. Archived from the original on 27 July 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ Hebel, Christina (30 October 2008). "Schließung des Flughafens Tempelhof: Endstation Wehmut" [Closure of Tempelhof Airport: terminal nostalgia]. spiegel.de (in German). Spiegel online. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "FIA confirms Formula E updates following World Motor Sport Council". FIA. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "Brooks and Ferrari shine amid the tedium". espn.co.uk. ESPN. 2 August 1959. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "Vergilbter Glanz einer Legende". stern.de. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ Busse, Axel F. (17 May 2015). "Mit 225 Sachen durch Berlin" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "Driver's Championship: Monaco – After Race" (PDF). fiaformulae.com. FIA. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ "Team's Championship: Monaco – After Race" (PDF). fiaformulae.com. FIA. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ "Circuit Guide". FIA. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ a b "Berlin, Germany – Round 8". fiaformulae.com. FIA. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "Twitter post". twitter.com. GL Events UK. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "World record set at DHL Berlin ePrix". fiaformulae.com. FIA. 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Jacobs, Stefan (23 May 2015). "Rasende Staubsauger und ein Weltrekord" (in German). Der Tagesspiegel. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "Practice and qualifying". FIA. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d "DHL Berlin ePrix". fiaformulae.com. FIA. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ a b c "Rules & Regulations". fiaformulae.com. FIA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Murphy, Luke (27 May 2015). "Berlin ePrix: di Grassi exclusion gifts D'Ambrosio victory". formulaspy.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "Trulli storms to pole in Berlin". berlin.fiaformulae.com. FIA. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "Di Grassi excluded from DHL Berlin ePrix". fiaformulae.com. FIA. 23 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Jerome is second to one". fiaformulae.com. FIA. 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "Di Grassi wird disqualifiziert" [Di Grassi is disqualified] (in German). Sport 1. 23 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ Straw, Edd (23 May 2015). "Berlin Formula E: D'Ambrosio gets win as di Grassi disqualified". autosport.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "2014 DHL Berlin ePrix". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ "Team's Championship: Berlin – After Race" (PDF). fiaformulae.com. FIA. 23 May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 10 August 2015.